Indian companies gear up to buy Covid-19 vaccines for employees

Several Indian companies are making plans to buy Covid-19 vaccines for their employees, just days after the country's government began one of the world's largest vaccination drives with healthcare and other frontline workers. Steel producer Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, autos-to technology conglomerate Mahindra Group and consumer goods giant ITC Ltd have begun initial checks on hopes that vaccines will be available for purchase after the government covers priority segments. "ITC would certainly like to extend the vaccination to employees... We have approached vaccine manufactures and are in exploratory talks," Amitav Mukherji, head of corporate human resources, said. 

Tata Steel said it would get employees inoculated as soon as shots are available commercially.Indian factories are recovering from one of the world's strictest lockdown last year, which led to large-scale job losses and migration of workers back to their villages. "We are reaching out to vaccine manufacturers for bulk supply of doses and will try to get these doses after completion of all frontline Covid warriors' vaccination," Pankaj Lochan, chief human resource officer, JSPL, said. Billionaire Anand Mahindra-led Mahindra Group said it was also interested in buying vaccines for employees "in accordance with the priorities and sequence to be specified by the government". India is currently using Britain's Oxford University /AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being produced in India by the Serum Institute, and a government-backed alternative developed by India's Bharat Biotech.